After looking at the data Veronique de Rugy asked: where is this much discussed austerity?

Spain, the United Kingdom, France and Greece are widely believed to have implemented severe austerity measures.

Yet their spending is still higher than pre-recession levels.

In fact, France and the UK didn’t cut spending at all.

While Italy did cut spending between 2009 and 2010 it increased it by more than what was cut in 2011.

Countries have raised taxes more than they have cut spending.

To read a further discussion about how in an age of economic woes, flat spending might be a sign of austerity, why raising taxes is a bad idea, what successful reform actually looks like, and what European countries need to do, click here.